Tales of the Big Bad Wolf: The Red Riding Hood Arc (A Fairy Tale)

Chapter 18, Part A: Evenfall

Whatever sentiment of joy the girl or the awakened lions had felt was not shared by the young man standing with them.

"Elanore!" Fear took hold of Edmund as he saw the young woman crumple to the ground. He dropped to his knees to tend to the girl whose cloak and hair spilled across the snow. A deep line creased his brow as he gently shook the woman.

The lions stopped their chattering, training their eyes upon the young man who continued to call to her. As his voice grew tighter and more insistent, they joined him at her side and nudged her hands and face with their noses.

What purpose this act served he did not understand until they turned to him and did the same.

Considering their size and heaviness, their touch was surprisingly gentle. The feel of stone was cold but it changed as a familiar tingle ran through his arms. Energy passed from them through him, warming him and easing his anxiety. He took a deep breath. Once. Twice. He then realized Elanore was doing the same, breathing with him. And he knew.

This was magic. Their magic.

"SHE IS NOT HURT," a lion spoke to him directly. "WE HAVE DETERMINED THAT SHE IS ONLY RESTING. SHE IS INEXPERIENCED WITH MAGIC AND USED TOO MUCH ENERGY. WE HAVE GIVEN HER A SMALL PORTION SO SHE MAY SLEEP BETTER."

The lion spoke to him as if he were a child who knew nothing. In a way that was the case. He knew nothing of magic and its rules, of the cost of its use, and how it affected someone like Elanore. But he saw she was breathing easier now. "Thank you," he said to the four creatures.

The creature opened his mouth as if to say more but halted when Elanore stirred slightly and murmured something about food. Edmund blinked, more relieved than he would permit himself to admit. That relief faded, only to be replaced by an instinct to leave this place. He lifted her as he stood. "I must take her home right away." And with a quickness that startled the lions, he moved towards the gate.

"UWAIN SAID HE IS RESPONSIBLE AND WANTS TO CARRY HER." Lamb protested while all the lions trailed after him, making insistent noises. "GAWAIN SAYS YOU HAVE HORSES AND TO WAIT."

Edmund looked about blankly but kept proceeding.

"BOY!" The lions crossed his path and stopped him. "TIS TOO FAR."

Edmund took a deep breath and urged himself to allow thought to prevail over instinct. They were right in that he could not carry her home but their solution was not much better. "Parading Elanore down the road on a lion's back will not do. I don't think the townspeople can handle your existence yet. Not without some explanation."

"DON'T BE FOOLISH," Lambegus blasted. "YOU CANNOT MANAGE HER ALONE."

The lion's loud words swayed him. Edmund began to kneel in the snow, the weight of Elanore pressing upon him. "I will wait for the servant that was here earlier and the horses. But hurry."

Immediately two of the lions ran off leaving the other two to escort  Edmund and Elanore back towards the house. They kept close as if they feared he would bolt up the long pathway to the gate.

When they reached front circle drive, the butler and another middle-aged gentleman hurried out to meet them. They would have taken her from him, but Edmund balked at the suggestion. His earlier fear for Elanore's health had been replaced by anger towards their absent master. He refused to leave the young woman with the servants of a man who he had no reason to believe could care for her as he ought to.

As rational as that decision was, underneath that motive was a much simpler one. He could not be so as unfeeling as to leave the woman who had just kissed him behind! Edmund bristled at the butler who continued to argue with him. "I will take her home," he firmly stated.